180 Indian Birds VOL. 15 NO. 6 (PUBL. 15 JUNE 2020) Correspondence A Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica in Arunachal Pradesh: An addition to the Indian avifauna The Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica winters mainly in Central and Eastern Asia and has a large breeding area from the Nordic regions to Central Siberia. It is considered a vagrant to Nepal (Grimmett et al. 2011), but treated as hypothetical to South Asia by Rasmussen & Anderton (2012). Praveen et al. (2017) included it in the checklist for the Indian Subcontinent on the Sandip Das basis of two different sightings from Nepal (Praveen et al. 2017). More recently, it was photographed in Bhutan (Lilje 2017) but it has not been reported from India yet (Praveen et al. 2019). 229. During our recent birding trip to Arunachal Pradesh, while visiting a grassland habitat at Jia (28.05°N, 95.74°E) on 15 January Our first impression of this bird was of a Little BuntingE. 2020, we spotted a sparrow-like bird on an un-metalled earthen pusilla, which is rather common. But extensive chestnut colour road between two large paddies. It was a damp overcast day and on the back and the rufous spotted flanks were confusing us. a drizzle had just started. We immediately stopped the car but the We re-verified our identification using Robson (2015) and were bird flew to perch in the open, on a branch of a small roadside almost certain that it was a Rustic Bunting. The main identification tree beside thick bushes. Being on the favorable side in the car, pointers were: A prominent supercilium which is whitish and BH and DPP could manage to get a few photographs [227] while clearly broad and bold; whitish sub- moustachial line, throat, others watched through the windscreen. Later, we came out of and belly; blackish crown, forehead, and malar stripe; brown the car stealthily and finally could get more photographs. cheek-patch with black outline and a small white spot at the rear; flanks coarsely spotted with rufous with rufous rump; and a small conical bill. One important feature that was missing in this bird was the erect crown feathers. The nearly similar looking Tristram’s Bunting E. tristrami lacks a crest, and chestnut spotted flanks as well. Afterwards we went through more online images on www. ebird.org and www.orientalbirdimages.org and noted that a crest may not, always, be visible. The only other similar species is Yellow-browed Bunting E. chrysophrys, which is another vagrant, but broad chestnut streaks on flanks and lacking any yellow in the supercilium was going against it. From the photographs, it may not be possible to age or sex Binanda HathibaruaBinanda 227. Rustic Bunting at Jia, Arunachal Pradesh. this bird with certainty; it could be a winter plumage adult or possibly is moulting into adult plumage as it has wing and tail feathers that look fresh, and rounded (not pointed) tips to the tail The bird sat there for a while and obliged us with a few decent (Peter Clement, in-litt., e-mail dated 04 February 2020). images [228–229]. After a few minutes it flew away and settled Recent evidence shows a rapid decline globally. due to in the paddyfield. We approached it cautiously, but instead found increased logging in breeding areas and large scale trapping in the a flock of Black-faced BuntingE. spodocephala (three males non-breeding areas, and hence, it is listed as Vulnerable under The and one female) feeding on leftover rice seeds, camouflaging IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (BirdLife International 2016). themselves in the stubble. A Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis also We would like to thank Arup Kumar Banerjee and Praveen J, was present nearby but we could not find that bird again. It was for their help while preparing the manuscript. gone. References BirdLife International 2016. Emberiza rustica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22720960A89641304. Website URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/ IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22720960A89641304.en. [Downloaded on 06 February 2020.] Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Lilje, M., 2017. Rustic Bunting Schoeniclus rusticus from Bhutan. Indian BIRDS 13 (6): 161. Praveen J., Jayapal, R., Inskipp, T., Warakagoda, D., Thompson, P. M., Anderson, R. C., & Pittie, A., 2017. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent: Species not recorded from India. Indian BIRDS 13 (4): 93–101. Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2019. Checklist of the birds of India (v3.1). Website 228. Joydev PathakJoydev URL: http://www.indianbirds.in/india/ [Date of publication: 16 December 2019.] Correspondence 181 Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683 Robson, C., 2015. A field guide to the birds of South-East Asia. London: New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. Pp. 1–504. R K Jyotin – Sandip Das, Binanda Hatibaruah, Joydev Pathak, Deba Prashad Paul & Sourov Boaruah 232. Red-billed Starling at Waithou pat, Thoubal, Manipur. Sandip Das, Palpara, Manoharpur East, P.O & P.S Dankuni, Hooghly 712311, West Bengal, India. E-mail: [email protected]. [Corresponding author] Binanda Hatibaruah, Natun Rangagora Gaon, P.O. Rangagora, Tinsukia 786125, Assam, India. The Red-billed Starling is a resident of south-eastern China and a E-mail: [email protected] non-breeding visitor to northern Vietnam, and Taiwan, and with Joydev Pathak, #1, N. N. Mukherjee 2nd Lane, Uttarpara, Hooghly 712258, West Bengal, India. E-mail: [email protected] increasing winter records in Korea and Japan (Craig et al. 2020). Deba Prashad Paul, Meerujin Housing, Narendrapur, Kolkata 700103, West Bengal, India. This is also an addition to the avifauna of South Asia (Praveen E-mail: [email protected] et al. 2019). Sourov Boaruah, 1No Moran, P.O. Boruah Nagor, Dist. Charaido 786125, Assam, India. E-mail: [email protected] References Craig, A., Feare, C. J., & de Juana, E., 2020. Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus), Red-billed Starling Spodiopsar sericeus in Manipur: version 1.0. In Birds of the World (del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D. A., & de Juana, E., editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Retrieved An addition to South Asian avifauna from Birds of the World: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/rebsta1/1.0. The office of the Divisional Forest Officer (Thoubal Forest Division, Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2019. Checklist of the birds of South Asia (v5.0). Government of Manipur) organised a two-day nature training Website URL: http://www.indianbirds.in/south-asia/ [Date of publication: 16 for civil societies on 12–13 February 2020 at three wetlands December 2019.] in Thoubal District, namely, Waithou pat (24.67°N, 93.97°E), Robson, C., 2015. A field guide to the birds of South-East Asia. London: New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. Pp. 1–504. Eekop pat, and Khoidum pat under the aegis of Nature Learning Centre, National Mission on Himalayan Studies (henceforth, – R. K. Jyotin, Khoyumthem Brajeshkumar, Premjit Elangbam, NMHS). During that camp, RKJ & PE led the team to Waithou Harmenn Huidrom & Dhanabir Oinam pat on 13 February 2020. While watching birds at 0830 h, RKJ R. K. Jyotin, Soibam Leikai, Imphal East 795001, Manipur, India. photographed [230] a starling amongst six Asian Pied Starlings E-mail: [email protected] Khoyumthem Brajeshkumar, Soibam Leikai, Imphal East 795001, Manipur, India. Gracupica contra. He called PE for help in identification, and the E-mail: [email protected] bird was tentatively identified as a Chestnut-tailed StarlingSturnia Premjit Elangbam, Toubul, Bishnupur District 795126 Manipur, India. malabarica. When all the teams gathered at the Divisional Forest E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author] Office Thoubal, after the birding trip, we had a closer look at Harmenn Huidrom, Yaiskul Hiruhanba Leikai, Imphal 795001, Manipur, India. East E-mail: [email protected] the picture and realized that the bird did not match any of the Dhanabir Oinam, Moirang, Bishnupur 795126, Manipur, India. Sturnidae recorded till date from the Indian Subcontinent. We E-mail: [email protected] sent the picture by WhatsApp to Raju Kasambe, of the Bombay Natuarl History Society, who identified it as a Red-billed Starling ‘Scarlet-breasted’ Gould’s Sunbird Aethopyga Spodiopsar sericeus. We also posted the picture on Facebook’ gouldiae dabryii from India Public Group, ‘Ask IDS of Indian Birds’; members agreed with Kasambe. Though the wetland was searched on the next two During a recent birdwatching trip to Mizoram, we were observing a days, the starling could not be found. However, the bird was again mixed flock of sunbirds and yuhinas at a site (22.68°N, 93.05°E) photographed on 16 February [231, 232]. Further field visits on in Phawngpui National Park, at c.1,600 m asl. The flock was high subsequent days were unfruitful. Identification is straightforward in the canopy in which we observed a single sunbird showing a from the photographs. No other species of starling has a purple throat, red breast, yellow belly, and a short tail. We took combination of creamy white head with a diffused dark neck some photographs [233] and later identified the bird as a non- collar, red bill, and grey body. The black-tipped red bill and grey breeding male ‘Scarlet-breasted’ Gould’s Sunbird Aethopyga mantle (vs brown) indicate this to be a male (Robson 2015). gouldiae dabryii based on descriptions and illustrations of the nominate and isolata ssp., both of which do not show a broad red breast-band.